Plain English Makes You Money. Corporate Speak Doesn't.

A recent *Harvard Business Review article titled, Simple Writing Pays Off Literally talks about quantifying the harm associated with overly complicated writing in real-world markets. Researchers compared the market value versus net asset value of closed-end investment funds.” Funds with annual reports that suffered from readability issues “exhibited a 2.5% reduction in market value.” Another study suggests that when you write complex documents, you raise the cost of debt capital by 77 basis points.”

A Grammarly and Harris Poll Research also estimates that US businesses lose $1.2 trillion annually to poor communication. This study looks more at the impact of poor communication on productivity and leadership. So, there you have it, poor communication impacts being effective at work, has a negative effect on employee morale which also puts a dent on company profits and share price.

I work more directly with sellers, and while most won’t admit it, I would estimate that a third of deals are lost due to complicated prose and corporate speak across proposals, tenders and contracts. With competition so tight these days, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to properly review lost deals (as in do a win/loss analysis) to see where writing skills are the problem?

In the funny and witty book Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, the authors assert, "Let’s face it: Business today is drowning in bullshit. We try to impress (or confuse) investors with inflated letters to shareholders. We punish customers with intrusive, hype-filled, self-aggrandizing product literature…” and “the average white-collar worker walks into meetings only to be deluged by hype and corporate speak.”

The authors provide a real-life example of corporate speak (above), and if you’re in tech, you've probably read it and thought, “What’s wrong with this piece of writing? It’s fine." :-) The problem is it’s using a lot of words unnecessarily. And the bigger problem is that it’s using corporate speak to hide from the truth, which is "we’re in deep trouble and redundancies are coming.” As the authors say, it’s a bunch of BS that anyone reading will pick up straight away, yet still, we insist on writing like this. It takes a combination of courage and, yes, well-honed writing skills to speak the truth sensitively yet honestly.

Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned

Here's the thing, we all use corporate speak to some degree. Some of us more, some of us less. It’s a bad habit we’ve picked up, copying and mimicking how everyone else writes and speaks in business. (I try not to, but I admit I use ‘empower’ too much, which apparently is a much-hated word by readers). So I’m not pointing the finger at anyone.

The thing about corporate speak is that it's also bland speak. Too many competitors in B2B IT say almost the same thing on their websites even as they declare, “we’re different”. Saying you’re different while using the same corporate lines like “speed to value”, “results-driven”, or “best of breed” doesn’t make you different. It makes you same, same.

So this article, Dear Reader, encourages you (and reminds me) to communicate like we have a personality. To communicate (especially in writing) in a way that shows that our company has a soul made up of flesh and blood humans.

The best way to communicate like a human is by using straight talk. And straight talk uses plain English.

What Is Plain English?

?But what exactly is plain English? Here’s one definition:

“Plain English is clear, straightforward expression, using only as many words as are necessary. It is language that avoids obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence construction. It is not baby talk, nor is it a simplified version of the English language." Plain English Commission, UK

Plain English, in my opinion, is every day language. Most sellers speak like regular humans but revert to corporate speak when writing. Considering how much time we spend writing as part of the sales process, this is a problem.

An excellent book and guide on how to write plainly (thus building trust with our audience) is Clear & Concise by Susan McKeriahan. Here’s what she says:

“Plain English doesn’t involve ‘dumbing down’ or simplifying the message. A document can use technical or specialist terms and discuss a complex subject, but still be written in plain English.” She adds, “using plain English enables the reader to focus on the message rather than being distracted by difficult language or complicated sentences. The writer benefits too, being seen not only as an expert in their particular field but also as someone skilled in explaining complex messages clearly.”

Conclusion

In my opinion, every person working in sales and pursuits, whether the seller, technical subject matter expert or commercial and legal representative, should be proficient at writing in plain English. Even if you have professional writers at your disposal. These resources are spread thin and usually unavailable 90% of the time when you have to write.

This means training courses on writing in plain English should be an integral part of sales training. I also think it should be essential training for senior executives that communicate company results and business strategy internally and externally.

At the very least, start paying attention to your Corporate Speak and edit it to sound like a human and not a zombie that has had the life sucked out of you!

*Link to the Harvard Business Review article mentioned in the introduction.

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Why B2B Communications Must Wield 'Brutal Simplicity Of Thought'

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